Aha! DL provides a product that isn't *best in class* (not PHL-FCO)

So Jeff sent me the MM gift and it finally appeared...a Hartmann rollaboard case. It arrived, fortuitously, on Tuesday. On Wednesday I embarked on a CO award itin to EZE. Booked ahead of time, at standard levels with great choice of routings etc. You know, all the good things that DL doesn't want to provide its Medallion customers.

A delightful irony. Fits perfectly into the overheads of the CO764.

The case seems useful, it's a good size and it crams quite a lot of stuff. I rolled it around EZE for miles and then did more when I returned. I look forward to embarking on numerous OAL trips with this nice equipment.

Then I received a survey about DL SM, but when I entered my demographic details it told me my response wasn't needed. But what Jeff's agents meant was "Aargh! Why was the survey sent to the infamous shark? We know he's not an apologist. He's going to tell us of the myriad factual ways that we, and our notorious SM program, are *best in class* And please no more of PHL-FCO!"

Ah, yes. PHL to FCO. You remember. 635k for demanded for one redemption. By DL.COM. Not all of which was in J.

In Jeff's R.'s corporate eulogy when he moves on/retires, I'm going to arrange to have the DL website hacked to include the phrases "Jeff R.'s work at Delta SkyMiles was truly unique. it is true that on occasions his program provided products that benefited the Medallion members, such as their choice of Hartmann rollaboards for crossing the Million Mile threshold. He was the only executive in the industry who had the intelligence and ***** to offer his most loyal customers redemptions at stratospheric levels. One of the most infamous examples from 2010 was the PHL-FCO redemption for 635k. Not all of which was in J."

I'm sorry but if you're not happy with DL then move on and join another program. Did you check for availability on other ST carriers like AF?

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Good advice...I belong to fifteen FFP. But that doesn't stop me commenting on DL SM. Of which I remain an active, Medallion member. You didn't think these other memberships would somehow substitute for my comments on DL SM, did you?

I can't recall if the notorious, infamous 635k demand did include AF but some of the "high-value" 370k options did. Remember what happens when Deltabestinclass.com directs your search? It finds triple RJ connections to the AF gateway city, all pricing at SKYSNORK levels and quintupling the total itin cost even if AF segs are available.

I am wondering if we can get a redtailshark sub-forum with a cheeky title. Like DL Basher Lounge.

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Why? The MM gift is a good thing. I was surprised by how useful it's been already.

True, the DL SM and the award redemption situation is not. So ironically, the gift which does help the frequent traveler, is most useful on COUA/AA/BA.

And if you think I'm in the only one who finds the system user-hostile, deliberately so, then you need to pay attention to what numerous others are saying when they try to redeem, change tickets, handle reissues and other things. They totally suck at those. The forum you suggest would have a lot more than one member.

As for lifetime levels. Here's the deal: DL MM, decent one-time gift and then "annual complimentary" SM membership, for the moment, at the not-very-priviliged FO level. For one. COUA MM: "annual" Star Gold membership. For two. There's no contest and even DL loyalists know it.

If DL actually delivered on more of its claims for SM it really might be, well, not "best in class" but perhaps competitive with other FFP. If DL beat CO in a factual redemption comparison, again, that would be worth posting.

Forty-one times out of forty-two, since I pulled the plug on DL in spring 2009, the COUA redemption has been better than the directly comparable DL SM one. As always I compared this last one, this week to EZE (with the new DL MM Hartmann case)... CO offered me multiple options at Saver level. At DL "We are sorry, we cannot find an available itinerary." We're not talking somehow comparable, or in the ballpark with give-and-take. In 93% of the actual cases (Asia, EU, Lat Am, Cent Am and a couple of domestic), DL SM performs worse.

Sadly, I have to say that redtailshark is abso-freaking-lutely correct with regards to the delta-low-life-low-interns-operated-and-programmed-excused-award-calendar... it is the worst in the industry. Actually, it is very possible that a random generator table will have better hit than this low...

If you have doubts, you are welcome to search a flight from NY to Toyko with outbound NY-tokyo, and return... also NY-Tokyo

He is also abso-freaking-lutely correct about the MM program. At Gold for 2 MM and zip status-wise for 3MM ( you do get to choose another 'gift' item though) DL is not on a par with the other carriers.

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